Sino-Soviet tensions Flashcards
Discuss Mao policy priorities after His rise to power in 1949
Mao’s aims were essentially about ‘national’ survival rather than helping the USSR:
1) Economic Development – China reluctantly relied on Soviet aid and expertise to re-build mainland China. Received trade embargo from West in November 1949.
2) Territorial Integrity – China needed to secure its control over outlying provinces like Tibet and Taiwan. Feared hostile forces on its borders in Vietnam/Korea, needed Soviet protection initially. Some felt that Vladivostok ( area was ceded by China to Russia) should be returned by USSR to PRC.
3) National Identity – Maoism was not just about world revolution but restoring the Chinese nation and re-dressing past humiliations, including Soviet domination. Mao wanted independence of action
4) International Revolution –Mao believed that war with capitalism was inevitable. Communist revolutions should be encouraged worldwide. USSR didn’t want this after 1956 (Khrushchev’s Secret Speech).
Dicuss the Ideological & Personal & Economic & Political Differences under Stalin and Mao (Arguable origin of the breakdown of Sino Soviet relations)
1)There was an ideological difference between Soviet and Chinese communism. Mao’s interpretation of Marxism focused on using the peasants as the revolutionary class. Stalin believed this was wrong, revolution should be based on the urban working class.
2) Stalin and Mao had a history of disagreements even before 1949
Stalin had not given aid to the CCP. This was partly because of ideological differences but also because he feared Mao as a rival for the leadership of the communist world. Instead, Stalin believed KMT (Kuomintang/Nationalist) were better placed to reunify China and supported them even in the 1940s. Mao believed that Stalin wanted a weak China that he could dominate
3) once the CCP had won the civil war, Mao was invited to the Soviet Union where the Sino-Soviet Treaty was signed on 14 February 1950. Stipulated in the Treaty, the USSR granted China a loan of $300 million in equipment, infrastructures, industrial projects and also technical expertise by sending Soviet specialists a loan of $300 million in equipment, infrastructures, industrial projects and also technical expertise by sending Soviet specialists to aid to the PRC’s recovery from war. However, the Chinese felt that they were poorly treated when in Moscow, and the fact that Soviet ‘aid’ was to be loans, paid back with interest, indicated that the USSR was going to exploit the Treaty in its own interest.
4) Political
After UN forces successfully pushed South Korean forces back behind the 38th parallel following the invasion of South Korea by North Korean forces on June 25th, 1950, Stalin urged PRC to send assistance to North Korea after they lost ground to south Korea and UN forces. Mao feeling threatened due to proximity to UN and US troops, bowed at Stalin’s request and launched an invasion on North Korea. China suffered 7.5 million casualties in the civil war & between half a million and a million in the Korean war. Conflict further strained Stalin’s and Mao’s relationship (This gave Mao the indication that Stalin was deliberately trying to keep China weak)
Discuss historiography regarding the Sino soviet split
1) Historian Lorenz M. Luthi argues the Sino soviet split was rooted in differences in ideology. He states that “both Chinese communists and the Soviets were true believers in Marxist-Leninism. [However], discord between Beijing and Moscow arose over the method of establishing a socialist society domestically, and over the joint policy of the socialist camp toward the capitalist world”
2) Historian Gaddis supports this view of Lorenz, stating that “Khrushchev and Mao had all the instincts and prejudices of nationalists, however much they might be communists”
List 4 events arguably responsible for the breakdown of Sino Soviet relations (the Sino Soviet split)
1) First Taiwan Strait Crisis
September 3, 1954 - May 1, 1955
2) Khrushchev’s Secret Speech at
the 20th Party Congress
February 25, 1956
3) Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
August 23 - September 22, 1958
4) Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
August 5, 1963
Discuss the First Taiwan Strait Crisis and its impact on Sino Soviet relations & its significance
First Taiwan Strait Crisis
September 3, 1954 - May 1, 1955
The USA patrolled the Taiwan strait during the Korean War to maintain the neutrality of the region. In the aftermath of the Korean war, the U.S. Government sought to firmly establish the REPUBLIC OF CHINA Taiwan (ROC) Government in Taiwan. Thus, In 1954, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was created to unify the region against the perceived Communist threat. Moreover, U.S. officials openly debated the possibility of signing a Mutual Defense Treaty with the ROC. Mao saw the US as an aggressor and sought to assert PRC dominance in the region. Consequently, on September 3rd 1954, t he People’s Liberation Army (PLA) unleashed a heavy artillery bombardment of Kinmen also known as the Quemoy islands, resulting in two American military advisers being killed. On 12 September, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended the use of nuclear weapons against mainland China. President Eisenhower, however, resisted pressure to use nuclear weapons or involve American troops in the conflict. Nevertheless, on 29 January 1955, with approval from the U.S. Congress, Eisenhower authorized U.S. forces to defend the ROC and its possessions in the Taiwan Strait against armed attack under the U.S. and Taiwan mutual defense treaty of 1954. Khrushchev was also opposed to confrontation and asked Mao to try and stop the escalation of the conflict (SSR wasn’t willing to go to war with the US). This disappointed Mao and created a further rift between the USSR and the PRC. In April 1955, the PRC announced its willingness to negotiate with the US regarding crisis. The US accepted and talks began in Geneva in September, ending the first Strait crisis.
Impact of Sino Soviet relations
1) Many Historians regard this as the beginning of the split
Significance:
1) This crisis was an example of the US policy of brinkmanship against the PRC
(nuclear warfare was almost used)
Discuss Khrushchev’s Secret Speech at the 20th Party Congress and its impact on Sino Soviet relations
On 25th February 1956 at the 20th party congress, Khrushchev gave a speech in which he articulated his foreign policy of peaceful coexistence. He state that the USSR would not attempt to expand the borders of communism, reassuring the western countries. Instead, Khrushchev would allow workers to “create internal revolutions” to revolutionize the USSR. He also spoke out against Stalin and criticized his cruel tactics.
Impact on Sino Soviet relations
1) Ths further alienated Mao who saw it as an attack on his own governance and a direct insult.
2) Mao’s foreign policy changed to destabilizing soviet-USA relations, in order to make headway for Chinese dominance. MotIvated Mao to be to be the leader of the communist world which he strove to pursue .through agricultural and economic reform. In 1958, PRC launched the “Great Leap Forward” in order to accelerate economic growth within the PRC. Believed China will achieve absolute communism before the USSR.
3) Mao still needed to maintain good relations with the USSR, as they were responsible for his nuclear weapons program
3) In April 960, Mao delivered a speech on the anniversary of Lenin’s birth, entitled “ long live Leninism”. In his speech, he expressed the idea that a peaceful road to socialism was impossible. He indirectly accused Khrushchev of revisionism and challenging Soviet authority within the communist world
.
Significance:
Marks the Soviet Unions’ start to the destalinization.
Discuss the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and its impact on Sino Soviet relations
Mao wanted to impose his power upon the nationalists in Taiwan, as they had rejected a peace deal that the PRC had offered. The USA (and Dulles) had expressed that they would 100% support the nationalist government if attacked. In late 1957, Mao gave a speech stating that he was unafraid of nuclear war and that losing half his population would be worthwhile to expand the true nature of communism. The attack on the strait served as a message to Khrushchev that the PRC. Thus, on august 23rd 1958, Mao authorized the shelling of Quemoy and Matsu. The USA responded by blockading the strait in an effort to assure that the nationalists would receive necessary supplies during the conflict. Despite being completely against Mao’s actions, the Soviet Union gave a warning to the US attack on the PRC, which was an attack on the USSR. Mao had fulfilled this aim in demonstrating their ability to manipulate the world order & mobilize the nationalists and thus called off the assault.
Impact on Sino Soviet relations
1) After the second Taiwan strait crisis, Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated. In 1958, the Chinese constructed their first nuclear reactor. The Soviets assisted the Chinese in developing nuclear submarines in 1959. In June of 1959, Khrushchev suspended soviet assistance to the Chinese nuclear program.
* This was a demonstration of soviet strength as it withdrew its assistance. (marked the irreversible consolidation of China and the USSR)
Significance:
Mao asserted independence in the communist world
Discuss the Test ban treaty of 1963 and its impact on Sino Soviet relations
ver since the 1950s, Mao was frustrated by the attitude of the USSR in sharing its nuclear weapons. The USSR only agreed to give China a nuclear deterrent if China allowed the USSR to control its use. This Mao could not agree to.
After Soviet nuclear cooperation was withdrawn in 1959, Chinese nuclear physicists managed to piece together hundreds of shredded documents on nuclear technology. This knowledge enabled China to press ahead with developing its own bomb. However, in 1963 the USSR and USA signed the Test Ban Treaty which suspended the atmospheric testing of nuclear bombs.
Mao saw this as another betrayal of the USSR and an attempt to ensure that China could not develop its own weapons. Despite this, in 1964 China detonated its first atomic bomb. It was now a superpower. The bomb was codenamed ’59/6’ after the year and month that Soviet atomic advisors had been withdrawn
impact on Sino Soviet relations
effectively consolidated the Sino-Soviet split permanently.
